Mount Tallac, a classic ski tour in the Tahoe area - I encountered some obstacles

Mount Tallac is a favorite destination for Tahoe’s backcountry ski crowd and it's also popular with boarders. According to some sources it's actually rated one of the "top 10" backcountry skiing destinations in the US. My plan to get to the top via N-Ridge (which used to be the standard) and ski down the NE bowl had to be adjusted "slightly" because of the lack of snow and some extensive & intimate encounter with manzanita bushes. Even though I was almost at the point of giving up, I thoroughly enjoyed this ski tour and will definitely make Mt Tallac my goal again!

I park my car on Highway 89, 4.5 miles north of the 50/89 Highway intersection. 0.2 miles before the Spring Creek road is a turnout which is plowed in the winter and good for parking as well. According to this website the access to the N-Ridge is near the end of Mattole Road, so I walk (in my Teva sandels) first along Highway 89, turn left onto Spring Creek Road (gated in the winter) and after 0.4 miles take a right on Mattole Road. I can already see that there isn't really enough snow anywhere close. However, I decide to search a little bit by going up towards the N-Ridge in a few places, at the very end of Mattole Road and at the end of Mattole Ct. However all my excursions end in snow free bushy terrain. For a minute I think that I should just return to my car, get my hiking boots and do something without skis, but at this point it is too early to give up.

I decide to look for some snow and less bushes at the very end of Spring Creek Road. In order to get there, I return to the intersection of Mattole and Spring Creek Road and follow it to its end. "Of course" there's no snow here either, but at least I can see some not too far away. So I walk in direction south west into the forest. There are some sort of path traces, but far from a clear path. At some point the manzanita bushes get rather annoying, but at least a few hundred yards away I can now clearly see something like snow. At an altitude of around 6800 feet after fighting with sometimes thick bushes and giving almost up again, I finally reach a place where I can put my skis and boots on, just enough snow to gain some altitude. To my surprise there are actually clear ski and foot tracks which are a few days old. So at least I know, somebody else went up and came down this way as well.

At around 7200 feet there is definitely enough snow now and I don't have to circle around bushes too much any more. I am actually in the bowl which is north of the NE bowl. In order to get an overview I head south up to the ridge (which leads westwards to the N-Ridge) and look into the NE bowl to maybe cross over there. However, the way there is more or less completely snow free and "decorated" with plenty of bushes as well. Therefore, I decide to continue in this chute all the way up to the N-Ridge. It is quite steep, sometime up to almost 35 degrees. Once on the N-ridge I continue on the eastern side of it towards the summit and reach the saddle slightly west of the summit. I leave my skis here because the last stretch along the west ridge to the top is snow free and rocky (L).

The view from up here is exquisite, especially to Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leave Lake. A little later 3 snowboarders arrive on the summit, they got here with their hiking boots (!) via the south side. They plan to board down the NE bowl and we discuss the snow situation. Since I don't know how much snow is at the end of the NE bowl and how bad the bushes are there, I decide to go down the way I came up. At least I know it's possible and not too bushy. So my way down is more or less the same as up. Down to about 7000 ft it's an enjoyable ride, with nice spring snow. From there it's more or less sliding down between bushes and then the final walk through the bushes and along the road back to my car.